Into the Everfree Forest
by albinotanuki
Summary: Derpy Hooves gets herself stuck in the Everfree Forest and must find her way back home with the aid of a grumpy blind pony.
1. Meeting Lone Warrior

Okay, I wanted to do a fic about an OC I created and I thought that Derpy Hooves would be the best pony to interact with him. This is the first chapter of a potential story. If you like this, please reply.

Disclaimer: I don't own MLP; just Lone Warrior and this story.

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My name is Derpy Hooves, your average mailpegasus... well, maybe not THAT average. I'm pretty clumsy due to my eyes; they often wander in different directions and I often lose my balance or bump into things whether I'm flying or walking on the ground. I'm able to get by though. Sometimes other ponies make fun of my handicap, but I try not to let it get me down. Enough about that though; let me tell you the story of how I met Lone Warrior.

I was on my routine mail delivery on a rather windy day. I kept losing letters in the wind and spent half of my time trying to catch them. I ended up mixing up letters and have gotten several complaints from customers. After sorting through letters and delivering them (hopefully to the right ponies), I was about to head back to the post office when a large gust of wind started to blow. I tried my hardest to fly out of the wind, but I wasn't strong enough to fly out of it and I couldn't tell where I was going or which direction was where. It was pretty scary.

It wasn't long until I found myself crashing to the floor into the Everfree Forest. I've heard scary things about this forest, like how the grass grows, the clouds move on their own, and the animals take care of themselves. My surroundings were pretty scary too; there were trees with scary faces and dark thickets. Suddenly, a dark shadow approached. I got scared thinking of what this creature would do to me that I closed my eyes waiting for it to strike.

"You shouldn't be in this forest. Its dangerous for ponies like you."

I opened my eyes and saw, what I could make it out to be, a blueish-grey earth pony stallion with a teal mane and an oak tree cutie mark. It was hard to make out, but the look on his face and the tone of his voice made it seem like he was annoyed with me being here.

"I'm sorry." I spoke up as I tried standing up, "The wind knocked me out and I- OW!"

My wing was hurting really bad. I think I might have sprained it when I falling down from the tree. As I was checking it with one good eye, my other eye saw the stallion starting to walk off.

"Hey, don't you wanna help me with my wing?" I called out, hoping he would check my wing.

"I don't even know you." he answered back.

"Well, okay." I replied. "My name is Derpy Hooves. I live in Ponyville where I deliver the mail and my favorite snacks are muffins; any kind of muffin you have, I'll eat it."

The earth pony still started to walk off.

"Hey! I told you who I was, so you should help me!"

"I never said I'd help you in the first place." and he started to walk of into the woods without a trace.

I didn't know what this pony's problem was, he was certainly being a jerk, but I tried not to let him get to me. I tried to walk off on my own, but every time I tried to take a step, my wing would start to hurt and I would cry out with each step; I must have torn the ligament really badly.

Suddenly, the stallion came back with some medicinal herbs and placed them down beside me.

"Hold still while I treat your wing."

This was quite a surprise. I don't know what made him have a change of heart, but it was nice to have someone help me. As he felt my wing with his muzzle and was patching it up, I focused my eyes to get a good look at him. He wasn't a bad looking stallion. Kinda looked cute with his bangs draping over his face. Then I looked at his eyes. They were unfocused and clouded in a strange blue fog. It took me by surprise to realize that this pony was blind. I was afraid to say anything in fear that bringing up his blindness would upset him and cause him to leave.

"There you are. Just keep off that wing for a couple of days."

I looked down at my wing. It was rubbed with an herbal mixture and wrapped in a leaf bandage. I could feel the medicine already starting to work on my wing as it felt much less hurtful. I looked up to say thanks to the stallion, but he was already starting to leave.

I called out, "WAIT!"

I could hear the stallion sigh in annoyance.

"What now?"

I looked to the ground, shuffling my front foot shyly.

"I don't know how to get back home."

It was true. I wasn't good with navigating by foot and I couldn't fly with a sprained wing. I thought that since this pony presumably lived in the Everfree Forest, I thought he could help me get back to Ponyville.

"I'm sorry," said the stallion, "but I don't go anywhere outside this forest."

"You don't have to go outside the forest." I replied, "Ponyville is just nearby. You can drop me off at the edge and I can walk right over. After you return me home, I promise I won't bother you ever again."

The stallion stood there for a moment, contemplating my offer. Somehow, I knew that last sentence would win him over. He seemed like the kind of pony who preferred his privacy more than any other pony.

"Alright, come along."

I was ecstatic and almost jumped with joy before a twinge of pain reminded me to be careful about my wing. I slowly walked over to him, being mindful of my wing.

"So what's your name?"

I couldn't help but ask him. If he was going to be my escort, I wanted know his name at the very least."

The stallion replied, "Lone Warrior."

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Okay, thats the first chapter. Please R&R.


	2. Timber Wolves and Zap Apples

Second chapter. I was hoping for some reviews, but I figured I'd continue anyways.

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My new escort and I had walked through the forest for quite some time. I didn't know how a blind pony was able to navigate his way through a forest, but Lone Warrior was certainly a better tracker than I was; I was either tripping or bumping into things throughout most of our walk together. The way Lone Warrior walked was much more careful and precise; I tried to copy what he did, but failed miserably by tripping over each and every step. I figured since it might take some time to get back home, I decided to make some small talk and start up a conversation with Lone Warrior.

"...then I realized I didn't have any money for a costume for Nightmare Night, so I decided to go as a paper bag wizard."

Lone Warrior didn't respond much to me talking. I didn't know if he was trying to ignore me or had no response to my comments (probably both). I figured he wasn't much into chit-chat, but I wanted him to open up a bit so I could get to know him better. I finally decided to ask him to talk a little bit about himself.

"So how long have you been living here in the Everfree Forest?"

"Since I was a foal."

"So you must know EVERYTHING about this forest; that must be where your got your tree cutie mark!"

"I'll take your word for it."

I didn't realize right then and there that Lone Warrior stopped in his tracks until I accidentally bumped into him. He seemed to have been trying to listen to something from the twitching of his ears and the stern, focus look on his face.

"What is it?"

"Timber wolves."

"T-t-timber wolves?"

I got scared of the thought of timberwolves coming to attack us.

"Just stay close to me."

Lone Warrior pulled me close to his body with my ear up against his beating heart. His heartbeat was much slower than mine was. My eyes darted around looking at every corner of the forest, but I couldn't see any timber wolves.

"I-it doesn't look like any timber wolves are going to attack us."

But apparently, I spoke too soon. The bark off of the trees started to move and their eyes glowed. As the tree-shaped wolves stepped out from the shadows, I shivered in fear and wrapped my hooves around Lone Warrior's neck. One of the timber wolves lunged out at out, but amazingly, Lone Warrior bucked it away. Another came and another, and Lone Warrior was able to buck them out of the way as well. Another came and jumped on his back, so I decided to come in and buck the timber wolf off his bad (Hey, I finally did something right for a change!). The timber wolves then scattered.

I turned to Lone Warrior, who looked worn out from bucking those timber wolves away.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine." Lone Warrior sighed. "Its not uncommon to run into vicious beasts in this forest, so it was good that you stood by me."

I smiled. He seemed to be warming up to me, but still he seemed a bit weary of my presence.

Suddenly, something else caught the corner of one of my lazy eyes. It was a tree with a brightly colored rainbow of fresh fruit peaking out from the dark forest. I trotted over to the tree to find myself standing under a zap apple tree with perfectly ripened zap apples.

"Lone Warrior, I found some zap apples!"

I wished Lone Warrior was able to see the bright rainbow colored fruit with its shiny exterior. Of course, the look of the apples weren't as important as was the taste. I decided to pick one which was the closest to me and munched on its flesh. It had a tart bite, which felt like tiny lightning bolts hitting your taste buds, but with a sweet, juicy aftertaste which balanced out the flavor.

"These are really good." I said to Lone Warrior while still chewing on the apple, "You should try one."

"No thank you, I'm not that hungry."

"Well I'm taking some with me." I starting picking as many apples to carry in my now-empty letter bag as possible, "These will make delicious muffins to snack on."

"Perhaps." Lone Warrior replied, "I never had a muffin."

I gasped in shock. Never had a muffin? How could anyone go through life without ever once tasting a muffin?

"When I get home, I'm bringing you a muffin."

"I thought you said you'd never bother me again after I bring you home."

"I will." I replied, insuring him I'd keep my promise, "But you've got to have a muffin once in your lifetime. If you have at least one muffin, I'll leave you alone for good."

I could hear Lone Warrior sigh with reluctance. It was clear he was annoyed, but I believed that a muffin would give him a small smile at the very least. No wonder he was so pouty all the time.

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Well thats it for chapter 2. Please R&R.


	3. Poison Joke and Bath Time

Chapter 3 is up.

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We continued on our journey through the Everfree Forest. Since Lone Warrior was not familiar with muffins, I decided to educate him on the different kind of muffins there were.

"...Then there are also banana muffins, cranberry muffins, parsnip muffins, cinnamon raisin muffins, zucchini muffins, apricot muffins, lemon poppyseed muffins, blueberry muffins, pumpkin muffins, chocolate chocolate chip muffins-

"PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANYMORE ABOUT MUFFINS!"

I stood silently after Lone Warrior's outburst. It was obvious he was annoyed by my constant talking; I guess I DID get a bit obsessive talking about muffins.

Then something caught the corner of one of my wonky eyes. A patch of pretty blue flowers grew just a couple feet of where they were. My curiosity tempted me into going over to check out the flowers. I walked over, stood in the middle of the patch, and picked some of the flowers. They smelt lovely and they tickled my nose.

"Lone Warrior, you should come smell these flowers I found."

It was hard for me to make out from this distance with my eyes, but it seemed like Lone Warrior was smelling the air instead of coming over to smell the flowers themselves. I couldn't really make it out, but it seemed his face was pale with worry.

"DERPY, GET OUT OF THOSE FLOWERS!"

Lone Warrior rushed over to where I was and tripped over face-flat into the flowers. I wasn't sure what he was so worried about until I saw my body starting to sprout feathers all over.

"Whats going on?"

"That's poison joke."

"Poison joke?"

"It poisons ponies by playing jokes on them."

His voice all of a sudden sounded different. It sounded high pitched like a small rodent and from the looks of it, Lone Warrior seemed pretty annoyed with the new voice. I, on the other hoof, was more concerned about the feathers sprouting simultaneously throughout my body.

"Is it lethal?" I asked.

"Of course not, but it is irritating."

"Well then what's the cure?"

"A bath."

A bath? That didn't sound too were able to find a nearby pond and gather some herbs to make a medicinal bath for us. Lone Warrior stepped into the pond first.

"Aren't you going to come in and wash yourself? Lone Warrior asked me.

I shuffled my hoof nervously.

"I sometimes slip underwater and stay in too long. Could you help bathe me?"

Lone Warrior slapped his hoof on his face in disbelief.

"So needy." I heard him mumble under his breath, "Alright, come in and I'll help you."

I didn't much like it when Lone Warrior acted grumpy with me, but somehow listening to him speak in that high-pitched voice made it seem a little more tolerable. I tip-hoofed into the pond, making sure I wouldn't slip. I sat down next to Lone Warrior as he felt over towards me and started washing my feather covered body. I cringed as he accidentally touched my sprained wing.

"Sorry."

"Its okay." I replied, "I understood that it'd be hard to differentiate my wing from all these feathers."

Lone Warrior continued to scrub me. As the feathers started to dissolve, I looked into his clouded eyes behind his teal mane and wondered how they got that way. Was he born that way? Did he get them later in life? So may questions evaded me, but there was one that I dared to ask.

"Lone Warrior, how do you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Do all those amazing things. Like walking through the forest and detect certain plants and animals nearby."

As I would've normally expected from Lone Warrior, he seemed a bit annoyed with my question, as if it were the simplest no-brainer quester anypony could ask.

"I'm getting out." he finally spoke in his normal voice and started getting out of the pond.

I turned around to look at him as he got out.

"I can't do any of that." I spoke, "I think what you do is amazing."

I couldn't believe it. Even with my eyes, I was able to see Lone Warrior smile; a small smile, but a smile no less. That made me smile too. I had almost forgotten that I was still in the pond and slipped, but luckily Lone Warrior was able to pull me out of the water.

"Oops. My bad."

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Okay, thats chapter 3. Please R&R.


	4. Zecora and the Blindfold

Here's Chapter 4.

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We decided to rest for the night. That was good for me cause my hooves were getting tired from walking; I wasn't use to walking such a distance, especially in this dark, dense forest. I was glad that Lone Warrior was finally warming up to me; I hoped we could become friends eventually.

I woke up the next morning expecting to see the sun up over the trees only to be greeted by darkness and unable to open my eyes. I stood up and started to panic.

"LONE WARRIOR, WHERE ARE YOU?"

I felt something touch my flank and I panicked.

"Derpy, its me." I heard the familiar voice speak to me.

"Lone Warrior, I can't see anything!"

"Thats because you're wearing a blindfold."

"You blindfolded me while I was asleep?"

I was infuriated of the thought that Lone Warrior would play such a cruel trick on someone. I felt Lone Warrior laying a hoof on my good shoulder as he attempted to calm me down.

"You wanted to know how I do all the things I do. If you want to know, then you have to experience it through my eyes."

Well I guess that made sense now that he put it that way, but he could've just told me what he was going to do instead of giving me a heart attack by putting a blindfold on me while I was sleeping. I staggered around a bit and nearly tripped on a rock, but Lone Warrior was there to catch me.

"Use the tip of your hooves to feel for small objects in the ground."

"What about big things in the way or hit up against a branch?"

"Just use your muzzle."

"My muzzle?" I asked confusingly, "Well okay, I'll try it."

I walked around a little bit, using the tips of my hooves to feel for small objects like Lone Warrior suggested. Everything my senses could pick up seemed amplified while wearing the blindfold. My nose finally touched something. It felt like a branch with ticklish leaves on it. The leaves made me sneeze.

Suddenly, my ears picked up a buzzing sound far in the distance.

"Hey, I hear a cicada in the distance!"

"Thats good." said Lone Warrior, "You're using your senses."

I smiled proudly.

"So am I going to have to wear this blindfold throughout our trip?"

"Of course not. I'm only showing you how to use your other senses."

I suddenly caught a whiff of something savory and delicious in the air. I started to follow the scent with my nose. The savory scent kept getting closer and closer. My preoccupation with the yummy smell had me ignoring Lone Warrior telling me not to go off too far, but I was so hungry that I had to find out what that enticing smell was.

Suddenly, I bumped into something hard and wooden and fell to the ground. I could hear what sounded like a door opening and then a voice spoke.

"Who is this I see at my door? A blindfolded pegasus fallen to the floor?"

I decided to take off my blindfold to see who was talking and I was met by an array of dizzying stripes. As I tried to adjust my eyes, I realized I've seen this pony before.

"Hey, I know you! You're that zebra who occasionally comes into Ponyville!"

I could hear Lone Warrior catching up behind me and as he approached, the zebra looked over at him.

"Lone Warrior, what a Celestia send, and I see you have brought a friend."

"Sorry to disturb you, Zecora; Derpy's curiosity tends to get the best of her."

"You know each other?" I asked.

"We've met before."

Zecora looked at us and smiled

"You two look tired and weary. Perhaps some hospitality will keep you from getting dreary."

"Oh thank you!" I chirped.

I was excited that somepony would let us into their home after a long trip and, from the smell coming from inside Zecora's hut, it smelt like there was food to eat. I went inside to be greeted by tribal artifacts and stacks of potions and in a cauldron, was some yummy looking stew.

"I just mixed up that pot of brew. Would you care for a bowl of stew?"

"I sure would."

I wondered if Zecora ever got tired of rhyming. What if she got stuck while trying to rhyme words like "orange"? I grabbed myself a bowl, ladled some stew, and sat down to take a bite. As I was eating, I've overheard Lone Warrior talking to Zecora.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed you, Zecora. I don't like other ponies following me around."

"The past still plagues your mind? Tis your heart that is truly blind."

"I'm sorry. I know you did all you could to help me, but I just..."

I saw Zecora place a hoof on Lone Warrior's shoulder.

"You have already made a friend; tis progress for you to amend."

"I don't need friends!" Lone Warrior took Zecora's hoof off his shoulder, "I'm better off without them and I'm better off without Derpy!"

Lone Warrior looked pretty angry pushing Zecora away. It hurt to hear him mention my name in spite, but we had just started to have a connection; maybe he was angry at something else. I didn't feel like eating much anymore and excused myself from the table.

"I think Derpy and I are ready to go."

Lone Warrior walked over to me, letting me know that it was time to go. I got up and followed him out the door.

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Thats Chapter 4. Please R&R


	5. Poison Arrow Plant

New chapter is up.

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We continued on our journey as usual. I stayed quiet, seeing as Lone Warrior was still rather upset over his little rut at Zecora's place. I worried if I said anything inappropriate, he would go off and yell at me.

As one good eye followed Lone Warrior in his path, my other eye noticed a plant with thorns on it as it started to shoot its thorns right at him.

"LONE WARRIOR!"

I jumped right at him to duck him from the shooting thorns, but they hit him on his side. It seemed my eyes had fooled me into thinking they were heading towards him when I had actually pushed him in direct target. I looked down at Lone Warrior with my good eye and as I had expected, he was mad at me.

"What was that for?"

"I'm sorry Lone Warrior-"

"I don't need your sympathy!"

Lone Warrior got up and started pulling the thorns one by one with his teeth. He seemed quite angry and for some odd reason, I started to feel angry too.

"You know, all I've ever been was nice to you and your attitude still stinks." I finally replied, "I thought we had something when you bathed and blindfolded me. I've met mules who were less stubborn than you!"

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have asked for my help to take you home."

Now I was starting to fume. Lone Warrior was acting like a total jerk and somebody had to tell him off. I walked over to him and looked at him, face to face.

"Listen, you, just because you've lived alone by yourself doesn't mean you get to act all high and mighty. I tried to help, but my eyes don't work the same way other ponies do and I just happen to mess things up. Its not all fun and games having other ponies make fun of you, play mean tricks on you, telling you that your eyes look weird, but you wouldn't know about any of that because you've been living in a forest!"

I had no idea where that outburst came from, but it hurt me to speak those words out loud. My eyes started to well up with tears and I started to cry. I felt like I had done something wrong even though it wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault that any of this happened; that I messed things up; that my eyes didn't work the way they should. I felt so alone. Then, I felt a hoof wrap around me and I got pulled over toward's Lone Warrior's body.

"I know about it more than you think."

I sniffled and looked up at him. His face looked sad and forlorn.

"I was a colt living in an orphanage." he spoke, "I didn't lose my sight until one night when I heard some commotion outside my bedroom window. It sounded like somepony had stolen something and was being chased after. My curiosity lead me outside and I got in the way of the culprit. I never got a good look at his face, but I knew it was a unicorn, cause at that very moment, he cast a spell on me; I guess he didn't want me to report on him by seeing who he was, but the spell he cast on me left me permanently blind."

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

"Like having hot, searing flames thrown at your eyes."

I gasped. The thought of Lone Warrior getting hurt as a foal made me cringe.

"After I lost my sight," Lone Warrior continued, "many of the other foals at the orphanage, and even older ponies made fun of me and took advantage of my disability. I tried seeing doctors and magic adept unicorns to help restore my sight, but none of them could help me."

"Did Zecora try to help you too?"

"She did, but I didn't come across her until I was kicked out of the orphanage because I was considered unadoptable. They told me that a blind pony is a worthless pony."

Lone Warrior sighed. I couldn't help but feel bad for what he went through; if he only had at least one friend to cheer him up, then maybe thing would've turned around for him.

"Thats definitely not true." I said, "If that were true, then you wouldn't have showed me all those amazing things you do." I wrapped my hooves around his neck and nuzzled him, "and you definitely wouldn't have made me your friend."

I looked up at Lone Warrior and I could finally see a smile coming from his face; my eyes weren't fooling me there. Suddenly, Lone Warrior's eyes started to droop and he collapsed to the ground.

"Lone Warrior, what's wrong?"

"Those thorns that hit me were from a poison arrow plant."

"Poison?" I gasped, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't realize what it was either until the toxins started taking effect."

"Well what should I do?" I panicked

"Remember those herbs I put on your wing? Gather a fresh batch of them. They should have a distinct smell, like charcoaled mint."

I remembered Lone Warrior showing me how to use my senses, so I closed my eyes and sniffed the air. I could catch a small whiff of charcoaled mint not far from where we were. I followed the scent and when I opened my eyes, I found my nose in a patch of the herbs I was looking for. I picked some, rushed back over to Lone Warrior's side, and placed them on his wounds. I stayed with Lone Warrior until the herbs took care of the poison and healed him.

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We're almost coming to the end. Please R&R.


	6. Coming Home for Muffins

Okay, this is the last chapter.

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I stayed with Lone Warrior all night. He was quite feverish and sweaty and I had to cool him down with a cool rag. Lone Warrior told me that the medicine would take time to work, but I worried that, with his fever and the time that it would take to work, that he wouldn't make it. I continued to cool him down when I saw him lift his head.

"Derpy?" I heard him mumble. He was obviously quite delirious, but I bent over to see what he needed.

Lone Warrior nuzzled my face as if he were feeling for what I looked like. I blushed and didn't know how to respond.

"You're quite the cute little filly." he smiled before passing out.

I woke up next to Lone Warrior the next morning. I nudged him, hoping to get him to wake up. He wasn't feverish or sweaty like when I had last checked up on him. When he didn't respond to my nudging, I worried that he didn't make it through the night, but finally, he was able to open his eyes.

"Good morning, Derpy."

I was so relieved that he made it out that I wrapped my hooves around his neck ecstatically. I had forgotten that he had hurt his side and accidentally touched his wound as he winced.

"Sorry."

I helped Lone Warrior up with one hoof over my neck and we continued on our way through the Everfree Forest. It wasn't long until I saw a light at the end of the forest tunnel and realized that home wasn't too far.

"Lone Warrior, I think Ponyville is only a few feet away."

I walked over with Lone Warrior over to the light, but as we got out into the sun and away from the trees, Lone Warrior dug his hooves into the ground. I looked at him to see his unseeing yes widen in fear, as if he were afraid to go out any further from the Everfree Forest. From learning about his past and the fact that he lived in this forest since colthood, I guess I understand why he'd be scared, but it saddened me to realize that we might not see each other again.

"Well, I guess this is good bye then."

I sighed sadly, knowing that this would be the last time we'd be together. Then I remembered that I still had zap apples in my rucksack.

"Don't go anywhere, Lone Warrior; I wanna bring you back something from home."

"What are you going to do?"

"I promised I'd bring you a muffin and that's what I'm going to do."

I rushed back home to Ponyville. I went into my house, emptied my rucksack full of zap apples, and emptied my pantry. After some preparation and baking, I finally had a batch of fluffy, fragrant zap apple muffins. I put all of the muffins in a basket and ran back outside. Luckily, Lone Warrior was still there.

"Here Lone Warrior, I brought you some muffins."

I placed a muffin in his hoof. There was an unsure look on his face, as if he were suspicious that I put poison in the muffins or something. After sniffing it to make sure it was okay, Lone Warrior took a bite of my zap apple muffin. His face was stricken with a sense of awe as if he had just bitten into the most tasty and delicious thing he had ever had in his life. I don't blame him; muffins are the best treat in the world (except English Muffins. BLECH!).

"Well, I'm glad you like them." I said, placing the basket next to him, "It was nice to have known you; I'm just sad we couldn't be best friends forever."

"DERPY!"

I stopped and looked over at Lone Warrior, who seemed nervous and shy

"I'd like to eat these muffins at your place."

I smiled. Of course, I was happy he'd come with me. I gave him a big hug and walked over to Ponyvill with him.

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Okay, thats it. I MAY do a sequel, but that depends on my mood and what other people want. Please R&R.


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